


street rat

by SandM1827



Series: AK One Shots [2]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 04:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15598611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandM1827/pseuds/SandM1827
Summary: "I'm not going to be one of your grunts, Smurf.""Just Deran's whore?"





	street rat

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd.  
> Gif set: [street rat](https://stilinski-ortiz-dolan.tumblr.com/post/182890222961/animal-kingdom-fic-scene-derans-whore-you-know)  
> Set sometime after Smurf was released from prison.

J understood that he'd made a monumental mistake during his last visit with Smurf in prison-- a mistake he'd been trying to make up for since she'd been released. To the naked eye, she didn't appear to be holding a grudge, but there was something in her eyes and her relaxed tone that kept him on edge. He knew if he truly wanted to earn back her favor he would have to give her something, but that something didn't necessarily have to be his.  
  
"After the cops picked you up, Baz sat us all down, told us about your storage locker, about the money you had stashed away," J revealed to her one morning as she fixed breakfast. "He offered us our cuts."  
  
"He offered you a small percentage of what was in my locker." She smirked, continuing to slice up fruit for a smoothie. "Trust me, baby, if your uncles had anywhere near even half of their cuts, they'd be living it up in South America or Mexico, anywhere but here."  
  
"What's left in the savings account isn't going to cover all the bills," J had done the math and unless he handed over a significant chunk of his cut from the weed job, they were going to have to consider selling some properties. "I thought we could ask them to give you back what they got from Baz--"  
  
"They'll never do that."  
  
"I know," His uncles were selfish, they didn't care what happened to the empire Smurf had built off their backs. "Even if they wanted to, they don't have the money anymore. Pope spent his on a private school for Lena, Craig lost his in Mexico, and Deran gave his to his boyfriend."  
  
"His boyfriend?" Smurf raised a brow, intrigued by the word choice.  
  
"Yeah, that Adrian guy," At least that's what J assumed his uncle and the guy were to one another. "He's--"  
  
"I know who Adrian is," Smurf scowled before swiftly schooling her features. "What does Adrian need that kind of money for?"  
  
"Some surfing competition in Europe," J had overheard Deran and Craig discussing it once, but hadn't gotten many details. "Deran's sponsoring him."  
  
"Is that right?"  
  
"What do you want me to do?" His uncle had given a lot of money to an outsider while their family was going broke, that betrayal couldn't go unchecked.  
  
"You will do nothing," Smurf decided, lips twisting in an ugly sneer. "I will handle Adrian."

* * *

Adrian had expected Smurf to come calling for him once she got wind of how Deran was spending his money, but he never thought she'd be so bold as to confront him at Deran's bar of all places.  
  
"Hello, sweetheart," The Cody matriarch smiled sweetly as she slid into the stool beside him. "How have you been?"  
  
"Fine. I've been fine." Adrian murmured, sipping his coffee and suddenly wishing it was an Irish instead of just black with two sugars. "If you're looking for Deran, he's in the back doing inventory."  
  
"I'm here to see you," She acknowledged, wrapping her fingers around his coffee mug, taking it for herself. "I understand Deran's been very generous to you recently. Generous with things that don't belong to him alone."  
  
Adrian fought not to roll his eyes at the statement. It didn't matter where Deran had gotten the money, in Smurf's mind it belonged to her first and foremost-- any money her boys earned did. One of them could have worked as a goddamn barista in high school and she still would have taken their paycheck for herself, 'cause in her mind they owed her because she'd birthed them, and that was a debt they could never repay.  
  
"I know how difficult it is for you to see the difference, Janine, but Deran is your son not your husband," Adrian was painfully aware that Smurf truly believed she owned every part of her sons, Deran more than the others, and since he was child, Adrian had taken great care to show her that wasn't the case. "What's his is not yours and vice versa."  
  
"It belongs to the family," Smurf liked to use the word 'family' but he doubted she knew the meaning of the word. "It's been a long time since you've been part of one, you know, outside of your sister, so I can understand how you'd make the mistake, but don't worry, we can fix this."  
  
"Oh really?" He would wager the 50k Deran was lending him that he knew what she had in mind. "How's that?"  
  
"I'm going to give you a chance to earn what you took from him, from Deran," She spoke of the loan like it was thievery, as if he'd swindled the money out of Deran, and that couldn't be further from the truth. "It just so happens we could use an extra set of hands--"  
  
"I'm not helping you pull a job," Even when he'd dabbled in illegal activities during his misspent youth he'd only ever worked with one Cody and it sure as hell wasn't her. "I'm not going to be one of your grunts, Smurf."  
  
"Just Deran's whore?"  
  
She was expecting him to be appalled by the vulgar insinuation, to get angry and clutch the imaginary string of pearls on his neck. She wanted him outraged, she wanted to know she'd found the right button to keep pushing until she broke him. Half of Smurf's power game came from keeping people off balance with shocking words or actions, and he refused to give her that kind of control over him.  
  
"Better his than yours," Adrian had never lowered himself to playing the part of Deran's whore before, and he wouldn't start now just because there was money on the table. "And while I'll take it as a compliment that you think I have the sexual prowess to be the highest paid whore in Oceanside, Deran's generosity has nothing to do with how satisfied I keep him."  
  
"Oh, you really think so?" Smurf cackled, reaching out to trail her fingers over his jawline, caressing his chin. "My boys only shell out money for two things: a good high and a tight hole to fuck."  
  
"You have such a limited view of them, of who they are," It was a little heartbreaking, actually. "It's really no wonder why they turned on you. I mean, they've survived so easily-- so happily, without you while you were in prison. It's like they've finally figured out how to live for themselves instead of for small scraps of your affection."  
  
"You know, baby,” Her grip on his chin tightened painfully, a sure sign that he’d struck a nerve. “You can work that nine-to-five, you can go to college, polish yourself up all prim and proper, but it's not going to change anything. You are always going to be that dirt-covered street rat Deran used to drag in out of the rain."  
  
"Yeah, I know," He wasn't under the impression that he was or would ever be more than what he'd always be. "But I go to sleep every night with clean hands and a clear conscience. Can you say the same?"  
  
"Everything I've ever done was for my family," Smurf declared firmly as the door at the back of the bar swung open. "We'll finish this conversation another time."  
  
"We really won't," Adrian muttered, watching Smurf slide off the stool and make a quick exit out the entrance doors. "Well...that went well."  
  
"What's going on?" Deran asked as he hauled a keg out of the storage room. "You talking to yourself or was someone just here?"  
  
"Someone was here," Someone who obviously did not want her son to know what she'd been up to. "You just missed your mom."  
  
"Lucky me," Deran snorted. "Did she say what she wanted?"  
  
"Yeah, she wants her money back. Someone told her you were sponsoring me through the European qualifiers." Given the limited number of people who knew about Deran loaning him money, it wasn't hard to figure out who had sold them out, not that it mattered. "It's okay, though, Smurf and I worked it out."  
  
"You did, huh?" Deran set the keg down by the bar and gave Adrian his full attention. "How exactly did you work it out?"  
  
"Well, we concluded that you just have really expensive taste in escorts," Adrian grinned as Deran's eyes widened comically. "And I do really creative things in bed to earn such an exorbitant fee."  
  
"You do do some really fantastic things with your tongue, babe," Deran agreed, licking his lips. "But I don't know if it's 50k worth."  
  
"I’m working it off. We have a payment plan."  
  
"Oh, okay," Deran nodded, leaning against the bar. "Seriously, though, how bad was it? What did she say? What did you say?"  
  
"Nothing that hasn't been said before," Actually, it had been pretty tame compared to half the 'conversations' Adrian and Smurf had in the past. "It's fine, Deran. Relax. Even if it wasn't, it's not like I'm afraid of your mother."  
  
"And that is why everyone has always thought you were the crazy one."  
  
"Hey, my self-preservation instincts may be faulty, but I'm completely sane."  
  
"Yeah, sure."


End file.
